Governance

Governance overview

Corporate governance is the system by which companies are directed and managed. It influences how the objectives of the company are set and achieved, how risk is monitored and assessed, and how performance is optimised. 

As a trusted advisor and trustee of third parties’ assets, KordaMentha is committed to implementing best practice in corporate governance. Whilst KordaMentha is not required to adopt the CGPR as a private company, we have been guided by the ASX Corporate Governance Council’s Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations (4th edition, February 2019) (‘CGPR’) in the construction of our governance framework.

KordaMentha, through its Board of Management, committees and leadership groups is committed to meeting stakeholders’ expectations of sound corporate governance.

We have created a framework for managing KordaMentha and the entities it controls, including putting in place relevant internal controls and a risk management program.

Our framework

Our Board of Management oversees the firm, approves its strategy and ensures the appropriate structure is in place. The group is structured to ensure it is effective and adds value.

Our Board of Management is comprised of the principals, each service line head, two of the practice management leaders, one of the office leaders and the partner advising on strategy. They generally meet on a monthly basis, however during the height of the pandemic, they met on a weekly basis.

The role of the Board of Management includes:

• Overseeing the strategy of the service lines and the firm overall

• Overseeing the appropriateness of the reporting to service lines of their performance

• Setting the risk appetite within which the group expects management to operate

• Challenging management and holding them to account

The performance of the Board of Management is measured through the Cultural Health Survey, conducted annually.

The Board of Management is comprised so that it collectively has the requisite skills, knowledge of the firm and covers the specific service line offerings, to enable it to fulfil its role effectively.

As a trusted advisory and investment firm, the governance framework has been designed to instil a culture of acting lawfully, ethically and responsibly. The Board of Management is supported in this by the Risk Management Committee and the Practice Management leaders, underpinned by a code of conduct, and a framework of policies and procedures.  Education and training is provided to our employees on an ongoing basis, covering ethics and changes to legislation and regulations which affect our services. 

At KordaMentha, we value high standards of trust, empathy and ethical conduct in all of our dealings. We are committed to creating a work environment in which employees, ex-employees, suppliers, consultants, contractors and family members of these people are able to raise concerns, guided by our Whistleblower policy, regarding unethical, unlawful or undesirable conduct or activities, in confidence and without fear of reprisal.

KordaMentha adopts a policy of no tolerance of fraud and corruption in our Anti-fraud and corruption policy. Fraudulent activities and corruption conduct undermine KordaMentha’s ethical culture and possess significant adverse impacts, including loss of trust by our clients, the market, government, regulatory bodies, and employees in the organisation, affecting the reputation and business confidence.

Annually, KordaMentha publishes its Modern Slavery Statement, outlining our efforts to prevent and address any areas for improvement we may have in modern slavery. KordaMentha and its associated entities meet their disclosure obligations under AFS licences.

KordaMentha is committed to providing information about itself and its senior team members. In its Restructuring service line, external stakeholders were provided access to information online and virtual meetings.